Q - Dear Annabelle, My girlfriend and I have been fighting for about a week now, and it doesn't look good. She tells me she still loves me but I have doubts. See, she is never allowed out, and she doesn't care to argue to her parents that she wants to go out. So, I get angry and she just doesn't say anything. Lately she tells me she is going to bed, but if I call her house, the line is busy. I think she wants someone else. She wants to spend less and less time with me. She says she needs time to think. Is she thinking about dumping me? I need some help. I don't want to lose her. I love her to much. What should I do? A - Dear Jim, Well, the Īgood newsā is, youāre 19 and have a long life ahead of you, the bad news is, at 19, you really want THIS relationship to work. From what youāve said, and from the pattern that this represents. the Īshort answerā is: get on with your life and find new friends. I know thatās not what you want to hear, and that, right now your heart and stomach feel all knotted up and awful. In the teens, hearts are sooooo tender and the Īhurtyā stuff stays around so very long. Your friend is doing what her parents want , which, for a dependent child, is just Īthe way it isā. Some people grow up and leave home.....(some just leave home without growing up). However, while one lives in their parentās house, respect for the parentās wishes is a must. (Youāre stuck, sorry). In the late teens and early 20ās Īloveā is, (usually), an immature concept as well. Itās, (usually, just a manifestation of a need to continue the parental bonding experience without, (yet), having to go out and -- (SHUDDER)........be ALONE in the world. Your relationship MAY outlast the current upheaval. I wouldnāt count on it doing so, but youāll have a far better chance of itās doing so if you just back off and go about your business elsewhere. (Keep in mind thatās its really easy for me to say this Īcause Iām not 19 anymore.) Good luck to you......sounds as if you need a hug..........*hug*. - Annabelle